Son of a Preacher Man - By Arianna Hart Page 0,61

being was content, and even the inane chatter of the movie didn’t bother her.

“Can you stay here forever, Auntie Nad?” Billy asked.

“Not forever, but for a while. I have a home in New York. Maybe someday you can come visit me up there.” Although, where she’d find room for a family of five in her miniscule apartment was anyone’s guess.

“Do you have Thomas the Train up there?”

“I’m not sure, but I bet I could find something you’d like.”

He seemed to think about it a minute. “Okay,” he said and settled back against her.

She must have dozed off or gone into a mini-coma because it seemed like only seconds had passed before Hunter was calling for his mama over the baby monitor.

“I’ll show you what to do. He’ll need his diaper changed, and he’ll want a sippy cup of water,” Billy said.

Oh boy, she’d forgotten about the diaper. She’d never changed one in her life. But she was a well-educated woman, she could figure this out.

She didn’t have to worry about taking the diaper off Hunter, he’d already taken care of that. He stood in his crib holding onto the rails buck naked. She watched in horror as he peed a stream onto the wall, all over the bedding and directly at her when she cried out his name in horror.

“Oh dear.”

“Babies,” Billy said.

Nadya waited until Hunter was done—which seemed to take a very long time—and scooped him out of the crib. There was a changing table with wipes and diapers nearby, so she put him on that. As she bent over to get a diaper out of the bag, he stood and lunged towards her.

“’ti Nad! ‘ti Nad!”

She caught him before he could topple off the changing table and decided maybe they should do this on the floor. “Yes, it’s Auntie Nad. And she needs to get you dressed, so why don’t you work with me here?”

His giggle didn’t reassure her.

It took three diapers, countless false starts and losing a fistful of hair before she finally got him into a diaper. She’d worked up a sweat, and he wasn’t even dressed.

“You need to put him in a T-shirt with the snaps on the bottom so he doesn’t pull his diaper off,” Billy offered.

“Good idea.” The one he’d worn to take his nap was soaked from his fountain imitation, so she held him in one arm while she searched for another outfit. Now she knew why Mary Ellen had so many of these in the wash. Hunter must go through three or four a day.

Billy stood to the side and offered advice, but was little help in getting Hunter dressed. Finally, Nadya got the toddler into shorts and put sandals on his chubby little feet. It had taken her close to half an hour, and she felt like she’d wrestled a bear.

“The shorts are on backwards. The Tomahawk is supposed to go in front,” Billy said.

“We’ll start a new trend. He’s dressed. Let’s get you to your mama at the store.” No wonder Mary Ellen had been so worried.

Getting the two boys into their car seats was another adventure, and Nadya still wasn’t sure she did it right. She drove five miles below the speed limit, terrified if she got into an accident the boys would die. By the time she parked in front of the store, she’d practically bitten a hole through her lip with nervousness.

Opal pulled in to the spot next to her before she could get out of the van. “Oh, hey, Nadya. I thought it was Mary Ellen. What are you doing with the boys?”

“Bill got called into work, and I volunteered to babysit so Mary Ellen could come into the store. Let me tell you, moms should get hazard pay. I swear it takes an engineering degree just to figure out how to get them in these car seats. I’ve negotiated contracts worth millions and haven’t broken a sweat, but half an hour with a toddler and I’m worn out.”

Opal laughed and snapped open a baby stroller with one hand while holding Tanner and a diaper bag with the other.

“Ugh, you make it look so easy.”

“It just takes getting used to, that’s all.” She strapped her son into the stroller and hung the bag over the handle. “Are you going to the church auction? I hear they’re offering a day with Officer McBride again.” She winked at her. “I betcha he’d love it if you were the top bidder.”

“I doubt it. I’m sure he’s ready to